First Impressions of Vagrant Story

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The best game ever on the PS? Believe it or not, this might be it. First impressions of the import.

By IGN Staff

Vagrant Story, which was released on February 10, 2000, in Japan, is the latest PlayStation release from the makers of the Final Fantasy series, SquareSoft. While it was already among the most highly-anticipated adventure games for the PlayStation, the interest in the game increased tenfold once word got out that it had received a perfect score from the highly regarded Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu Weekly.

Whilst it may seem that Famitsu is giving more perfect 40 out of 40 scores than in the past, a perfect score from this magazine isn't something that one can take lightly. In most cases, a high score in Famitsu means that the chances that the game is good are fairly high. Based on our first impressions of the game, we definitely agree that the game is of the utmost quality.

The game's development team consists of many of the folks responsible for Square's strategy/RPG masterpiece, Final Fantasy Tactics. The game's producer is Yasumi Matsuno and its lead character designer is Akihiko Yoshida, both of whom were a part of the Final Fantasy Tactics team. Instead of a turn-based strategy game, like Tactics, Vagrant Story is more of an action/RPG or action/adventure game.

As the game begins, the player is thrust straight into the adventure. There's no slow build up here, the game's story and action starts off at a high point, much like quality Hollywood action movies. The main character of the game, named Ashley, begins his quest sneaking around a mansion trying to avoid detection. (To find out more about the game's story and details about the characters, like Ashley, just head over to the PREVIEW).

The beginning of the game has a very cinematic feel and it pulls the player deeply into the game from the onset. The in-game opening lasts about 10 minutes and it finishes with a battle against a large dragon. The dragon is one of the coolest first bosses I've ever experienced in a role-playing game, although defeating it wasn't too hard at all. It only took a few hits to get rid of the dragon and it wasn't difficult to finish him off.

However, the dragon was visually impressive, well animated, and had some nice attacks. The dragon's fire breath had nice lighting effects that lit up the detailed surfaces in the room brilliantly. Nonetheless, it would've been much more impressive had he been just a little more challenging. It seems kind of weird that a couple of the regular encounters later in the game posed much more of a threat than the colossal first boss.

As described in the game's PREVIEW, the encounters take place in a pseudo realtime. Players can have the character run around the screen avoiding to the enemy creature, but when the player is ready to attack (by pressing the CIRCLE button), the action freezes. At this point, the player can choose to attack specific body parts of the enemy.

Depending on the enemy creature, there will be different parts available for attack. In most cases, it seems like the player should simply attack the critical parts of the body, like the enemy's head. However, players can take strategic advantages over more difficult enemies by targeting a specific body part to cripple its effectiveness.

The battle system may seem a bit complex, but that's not the case at all. It's extremely easy to jump into and most players should be at home with the ins and outs of the setup by the end of the game's first encounter. One of the most important aspects of any role-playing game is its battle system, and Vagrant Story definitely appears to be a winner in this category. It's quick, intuitive, and has some depth to it.

Another important feature of a great RPG is its music. This is another area where Vagrant Story excels in so far. The music that I've come across in just the first few hours of the game is excellent. Hitoshi Sakimoto, who was responsible for the memorable Final Fantasy Tactics soundtrack, has once again put together a soundtrack that will undoubtedly go down in history as one of gaming's best.

While we've only played about the first two hours of the game, we've already been won over by this masterpiece. If the game continues to keep this phenomenal pace and finishes as good as it has started; it will end up being one of the best game's on the system. In fact, it has the potential to be the greatest game ever released by Square.

We have just added 76 new screenshots and six new movies. To check them out, head over to the PREVIEW. Enjoy!